King Of The Wolves, page 24
Steeling myself, I looked Scarlet in the eyes. “Even trained as she is, Moira’s magic would drive her crazy. She’d rain destruction on anyone and anything nearby until she fully depleted her magic and died. Considering how powerful she is, I’d wager most of Larkinge and parts of Mogon would fall to her.”
Scarlet paled at that. “There have got to be other options. I don’t want Cassius to be your slave. I want him to be free.”
“I don’t want him to be my slave, either!” It exploded out of me, making her wince. I hated myself for losing my temper, but Scarlet had to understand. “What would you have me do?”
Before she could answer, I felt Fenrick’s energy and heard him in my mind. We still haven’t found them. I think the wizard must be using magic to conceal them.
Scarlet’s thoughts intruded. What about Moira, then? Can she find them?
Fenrick and I both tensed at her invasion. I didn’t think you could hear this, I said, looking at her.
Her eyes narrowed and her hands went to her hips. You're the one who said the mate bond was strong.
Our frustration was leaking through. Fen’s discomfort thrummed along the pack bond and both Scarlet and I were chagrined. Moira, I added carefully, is busy with settlements at the north of Larkinge. We shouldn’t have underestimated the wizard’s magic.
Cassius. His name is Cassius.
I ignored her barb. Keep looking, Fenrick. Scent the air for the magic. Search the nearby villages as well, in case they managed to slip out of our territory.
When I felt Fenrick leave the bond, I pressed my palms into my eyes. I didn’t want to fight with Scarlet. “I need to go,” I said. “As you said, I have king things to do.”
Without waiting for a response, I stormed out of the room. Her emotions chased me anyway. Hurt trickled through our mate bond in a steady stream and it cut me, knowing I was the source of it. I couldn’t blame Scarlet for not knowing about magic users. How it cursed them so completely. And how hopeless I felt with regards to the totem.
It seemed to burn at my neck, suddenly much heavier. It wasn’t magic, though. Just my own guilt.
Helda had remained at the stronghold and caught me as I walked. “Alden,” she said. “Have you given thought to the proposal? The one that would cut us off from the humans?”
Splitting Mogon. Like keeping hold of Moira’s totem, I loathed the idea but couldn’t think of another option. I had to keep the pack safe, and it was increasingly looking like the only way to do that was through an extreme measure.
“I’m still considering it,” I answered. “But it is looking more and more like our only option.”
She looked like she wanted more and I couldn’t. I simply couldn’t anymore. Too many people needed too much from me. I was spread thin and it was beginning to show. I needed to be the wolf.
As I shifted to four legs to head out, Scarlet’s voice rang in my head. Don’t kill Cassius, Alden. There was a pause, pregnant within my mind, where I could hear the “or else” she was considering.
Or else what? The mate bond was strong but Scarlet was far tougher than I could ever have imagined. She’d fought to live after a fatal wound. Somehow, it wouldn’t surprise me if she could ignore the connection between us.
It was a terrifying thought, because I knew for certain now I wouldn’t be able to live without her.
I took off into the woods. A part of me was aware I was running from my problems, but gods, how was I supposed to be a good king when I was being pulled in so many directions? How could I make the right decisions when all my choices seemed wrong?
The forest welcomed my wolf like it always did. We’d spent centuries convincing humans that Larkinge was magic, hoping to keep them out. The truth was, it was magic to me. I was connected to the land, the trees, the air of my realm.
My body propelled itself forward as I allowed my mind to go blank. Which is why I was startled when I realized I’d come to the burial ground of my people. There weren’t markers to designate it thusly, but all pack members were buried here, the earth receiving them back.
I padded over to the twin graves of my parents.
I wondered if my father had to deal with anything remotely as divisive as I was. Anger boiled up inside me. He’d made me king by ignoring our ways. Yes, Dean’s plan was awful and he might have beaten me in a challenge for the title. But I’d been given it without a fight, and I was beginning to realize that was the root of my troubles.
How was I supposed to be king when I hadn’t earned it? No wonder I was so torn. I couldn’t do it all, and I rebelled against that; it seemed like if I couldn’t have it all, I was dooming everyone to nothing.
Howling in frustration, I slumped to my belly.
What made a king good, anyway?
A memory burst forth in brutal clarity. My father in the council room, discussing a matter with the elders. Dean had chosen to go sparring, but I’d elected to sit in a corner and listen. After the elders had been dismissed, I watched my father transform. When there were others in the room, his back was straight and his jaw strong, every inch of him a leader.
When it was the two of us, he became smaller. Less steadfast and sure.
He put his massive hand on my wolf head and scratched between my ears. I leaned into that reassuring touch. “Alden, you know the secret about being the king alpha?”
I didn’t bother answering, licking his palm instead. He chuckled. “The secret is that you have the power, the influence, the magic of being the strongest wolf. But strength will only take you so far. Eventually, we all have to choose between two losing options. A good alpha and king always, always chooses his people. No matter what.”
At the time, I had no idea what he was talking about. My life was the pack. Everything was for the pack. When would there ever be another choice?
He gleaned some of my confusion and tapped his finger lightly on my nose. “Pay attention to this, then. Our rule does come down to our power. But we hold on to it by putting our people first. They depend on us and trust us because of that, and if we were to ignore that duty, our pack would perish.”
As a mere pup, none of his words held much weight.
Now, next to his grave, with the memory fresh in my mind, I understood on an intrinsic level what he’d been saying. He must have shouldered burdens. He’d made a losing choice, too…one that involved banishing his eldest son, who he loved, to save the pack.
Getting back up on all fours, I stretched to get my blood flowing again. On the surface, I hadn’t been sure I could choose the pack over my mate. But that was part of wearing the mantel, wasn’t it? I’d been putting Scarlet first and now the situation was muddied.
I wouldn’t live through losing the pack. Too many innocent lives were depending on me to protect them.
This had gone on too long and that was on me. But fixing it? I could fix it.
Something seemed to tear a bit in my chest. After a moment, a low, throbbing pain emanated out. My connection to Scarlet was weaker than before. Was she already trying to put distance between us? She was so willful and strong—traits I loved and admired in her. To know, though, that she was using those traits against me…it left a hollowness inside me which I hated.
I wasn’t going to kill Cassius. But I was going to take his totem and use his magic, along with Moira’s, to protect Larkinge. Their lives and magic would protect my land’s borders and my people within.
Scarlet would have to understand.
If she didn’t…
Gods.
27
SCARLET
Alden’s room was bare. There was the pile of furs in the corner and…not much else. We’d spent our hours since I’d come back from death making love on that pile.
Now, I couldn’t bear to be near it.
With nowhere else to sit and nothing to do, I decided to explore this place Alden had brought me to. My clothes were filthy and bloody, but they were all I had. Once dressed, I stepped out into a hallway.
The wood everywhere wasn’t as rough-hewn as I’d have expected. Instead, the pillars and supports had been sanded down to a smooth finish. While I preferred working with metal, I could appreciate the craftsmanship that went into the structure.
It took only a moment to notice small, strange differences, though. As I descended the stairs, I saw they were wider and less steep than normal ones. Easier, I understood, for a four-legged form.
I couldn’t help but be amazed that there was this whole world within Larkinge we humans in Mogon had never known about. There was just so much in the world I hadn’t known about.
Turning a corner, I came to a small room with a bench inside. There was no door, no furs, nothing to indicate the room belonged to anyone. Exhausted and emotionally wrung out, I sat on the bench.
What did I know?
I knew I loved Alden and believed, to my core, that he was a good man and mate. I’d never wanted anything so much in my life as I wanted him. Gods, he was the first thing I’d ever wanted for myself. So much of me had been spent in devotion to others.
That was okay. But it was also okay to want to think about my needs and my future.
But to enslave Cassius? What was this magic that was so punishing?
It was too much. I’d survived being killed only to find myself feeling helpless and at a loss.
Alone, I allowed myself to weep. Folding over, I hugged my knees and let the tears flow. I didn’t want to hate Alden, but I was certain I would never be able to forgive him if he bound Cassius to him for the rest of my friend’s life.
The tears did little to purge my anxiety, but they eventually slowed. When I looked up, I was startled to find a beautiful woman kneeling in front of me. There was something familiar about her, though I was certain I’d never set eyes on her before.
She reached out and cupped my cheek, a soft smile on her lips. “Feeling better now?”
I may not have known her face, but I knew her voice. “You spoke in my mind right before Kane’s men attacked Alden.”
She nodded.
“Then you’re…Moira?”
She nodded again, her grin growing brighter.
“You’re a witch,” I said.
“I am. And Alden holds my totem.”
Alden was her master, then. My nose wrinkled as I thought about how awful that must be. “Did he make you save me?”
“No. He asked me, and I was happy to do it.”
“But he could have forced you,” I said, doubling down.
Her lips pressed tight before she spoke. “Yes. Alden has never truly forced me to do magic, though. I’ve disagreed with his decisions on rare occasion, but in the end, it was always a choice for me to help him. Is that what’s on your mind?”
There was something so inviting and trustworthy about Moira. Besides, I needed an ally and a friend here in this place where Alden ruled and I knew so little. I decided to open up. “My friend Cassius is the wizard Kane is using. It’s awful to see.”
There was a flash of violence in Moira’s eyes and despite her gentle demeanor, I got a sense of just how powerful and dangerous she was. “Kane is an evil man and deserves a slow death for what he’s done.”
“I want Cassius to be free of him. But all the way free.”
Moira looked like she was choosing her words carefully. “There is…no winning for magic users like me. We’re born this way. Without someone to hold our totem and own our magic, it would destroy us. When I was much younger and my parents were still alive, Alden’s father held their totems.”
Her forehead wrinkled. “I didn’t like it then. I rebelled against the idea of having to be bound just to stay alive. But Alden’s parents, and Alden after them, have shown me that while they have to hold totem, it’s the magic itself to which I’m beholden. The magic is what’s made my life what it is, not the people who keep me safe.”
Her head dropped back, showcasing a long, pale throat. Her words seemed to float from her, lifting to the sky like bubbles. “We go through a ceremony, you know, where we gift our totems to the king. I went through it with Alden. Maybe that’s why it doesn’t chafe as it could. It truly felt like I was being offered a choice, and I took it. But that doesn’t mean I think our situation should continue forever. There are so few witches and wizards left in the world. My family chose to devote themselves to the Weisses a long time ago, but now I’m the last of my line. Cassius is the last of his.”
I swallowed hard. Her explanation helped tremendously, but the situation still sat wrong. “I don’t know what it’s like for you. And truly, I appreciate that Alden never abuses his power. But it just…surely there’s another way? Or a choice to be made?”
The witch tipped her head in consideration. “Nothing has come up in centuries. Maybe we grew complacent and stopped searching for a way. I’ll think about it. But for the moment, I need you to believe me when I say Kane is killing your friend. If Alden takes the totem, he will be saving Cassius’s life. You begged him to save your friend. This is the only way he knows how to do it.”
Without a viable alternative, there was no choice but for me to accept the situation. It wouldn’t stop me from trying to find a better solution, one where no one owned another person. It helped knowing Alden hated the situation, but only a bit.
I felt Alden minutes before he came to the room. To Moira, he said, “I thought you were helping the villagers in the north and south.”
“I did,” she said simply. “In a manner I felt you’d approve of. I planted seeds of doubt regarding the king’s ability to protect them for much longer, as well as visions of wolves along their borders. The families there are packing up as we speak.”
Moira spoke to Alden with confidence and didn’t act subservient in the least.
“It may take a few weeks and reinforcing the spells, but I believe the villages will clear out.”
He took this in and relaxed. “Okay. I assume you’ll need to rest?”
It was a gentle dismissal. I didn’t want to say goodbye to Moira yet, but she’d eased the worst of my worries. She walked out, leaving me alone with Alden.
“What’s she talking about with the villages?”
He hesitated, so I pressed. “Tell me, please.”
With a sigh, he crossed over to me and sat beside me. It was a wonder how instant my need for his closeness and touch was, despite still being angry with him. Alden braced his elbows in his knees. “I have to protect the pack, Scarlet. No matter what. It’s my duty and if I fail in that…”
He didn’t finish, nor did he need to. I considered how I’d feel if King Vyn didn’t protect my village. The anger and betrayal would be enormous, and I didn’t have the kind of relationship with the king or empire that the pack had with Alden.
If he failed them, it would utterly destroy the pack. The stress he must feel. Gingerly, I felt along our bond. Yes, it was there, a strain so heavy it was staggering to know he’d borne it all on his own.
“I want you to trust me,” I encouraged, reaching out to hold his hand.
“We’re going to use magic to seal off Larkinge from the ocean to the river.”
It took a moment for that to register. “You’d divide the empire?”
“To keep the pack safe. Larkinge can’t rely on tricks and rumors anymore. My scouts have said the fervor King Vyn’s managed to ignite regarding my kingdom is unprecedented. Even if I kill Kane, more will come. We need to seal ourselves in.”
I thought about what a divided kingdom would mean for the people I’d grown up with. It would be devastating…but it wouldn’t be ruinous. There had been several winters when produce from the other side didn’t make it Kelna, and we’d always found a way to make it through. I could only imagine that there were untapped resources on both sides of the empire.
It didn’t bother me as much as perhaps it should to think of the kingdom being divided. Humans could adapt. I wasn’t sure the pack could if humans invaded Larkinge. There was a beautiful and delicate balance to the place.
If humans came, the trees would go. The ferns and shrubs and grasses smashed to death or uprooted. There would be less room for the rabbits, deer, and birds that sustained the pack. All of this I managed to glean from the bond with Alden. How precious and fragile Larkinge truly was.
A need to protect it stirred fiercely inside me.
“Magic…how much magic would that take?”
“A lot. Moira’s and Cassius’s.”
I bit my lip. “I don’t know if Cassius has much left to give.”
“I know.” He sounded truly heartbroken. I wanted to protest, because he couldn’t force Moira and Cassius, he just couldn’t! But then I thought of my friend. What he’d learned since Kane had enslaved him. He’d lived a hard life among humans, only to discover that he hadn’t been abandoned, but that Kane had murdered his parents.
Cassius managed to be generous when he had next to nothing.
He’d give all he had to protect the wolves from people like Kane—at least, that’s what I thought. Or, at the very least, to protect me. There was no doubt my lot was now with the pack. That brought me nothing but happiness, I found.
“What about my father?”
“We’d bring him here. This experience had taught me that we might need to modernize as a pack. I was thinking your father could help teach my people how to work metal. If he joined us, his debt would be erased.” Alden glanced at me with hope.
It was true. My father and I would have to leave our home, but we’d be gaining a new one. One surrounded with the pack who were, essentially, my new family. We’d be free of the debt and able to make more than just weapons.
The solution wasn’t perfect, but when had my life ever been perfect? And if Alden could not feel so much pressure to keep the pack safe, maybe he could brainstorm a way to free Moira and Cassius.
I just wanted to be sure. “Alden, if you were able to free Moira, would you? Even if losing her magic would make being king difficult? She assured me you are a good master.”
His face was stricken, and I saw his throat bob as he swallowed.
